Ulster Hurling U20 Cup

Antrim v Down

Saturday 8 February

Venue: Ballycran

Throw in: 12pm

Referee: Aidan McAleer

The u20 hurlers continue their Ulster campaign on Saturday afternoon by making a trip down the Ards Peninsula to face the Mourne Men in their second group game.  Having accounted for Derry last weekend in a strong performance, Mickey McShane will take his squad to Ballycran with confidence brimming.

That win against the 2024 Ulster champions in Ballycastle was every bit as emphatic as the final score suggested and while the size of victory was impressive, the manner in which the young Saffrons went about their business was the main take away from the match.  A definite style of play where they played with composure, accuracy, incisiveness and an unrelenting intensity.

After the game, McShane said that they were prepared for every eventuality with the conditions on the north coast: “There was a stiff breeze out there, Derry won the toss and elected to play with it.

“We talked about it before we went out.  We’d have one half where we’d be playing into the wind and one half with it.  We talked about how we needed to be very resilient, very solid in our defensive work and just try and play the game that we play.  Be composed and not just lump the ball up the field, we want to carry the ball into the forwards and we done that very well.”

Leading 0-12 to 0-2 at half time and with a massive wind at their back, the second half was largely all one way traffic.  The visitors to Ballycastle did play with more intensity in the second half but never looked like troubling Antrim.  The Saffron forwards were lively with Aodhan McGarry, Joseph McLaughlin and Cormac McKeown all impressing while Orrin O’Connor and substitute Oisin McCallin bagged the goals.  McShane added: “Derry came out with a lot of fire in their belly and we matched that, we took some really good scores.

“We have a certain style of play that we have and are trying to implement.  Where are we at with it after today?  We’re probably at 50% to where we want to be but that comes from hard work on the training pitch over the last number of weeks.”

It takes a massive effort to concede just four points from open play over 60 plus minutes of hurling and the Saffrons rarely looked like gifting any goals also.  Sean Og Blaney and Ben O’Kane formed a strong spine with plenty of support from Charlie McAuley, Niall Magee and Callagh Mooney.  McShane applauded the willingness of this group when he added: “I have a group of lads here who are very, very eager to learn.  They are great students and they’re listening and doing what they have to do in training.  When you work hard in training the performances will come like they did today.”

With the Ulster championship playing out a round robin format, the first two games come within seven days of each other.  A match against our neighbours in their back yard promises to be a sterner test of the squads metal and with the likes of Jack McCloskey and Sean McKay waiting in the wings, there was a feeling that despite how impressive the performance was, there is more in the tank and to be potentially expected from McShane’s side: “We had nine players injured today.  Some of them very experienced at this age group.  We’re blessed to have a strong panel and we hope to maybe get one or two of them back next week.  If we win next week then we’re into the final, four weeks later.  I’d hope, if we’re in the final, that we’d have all those boys back for then.”